Teaching is a stressful business! The noise pollution of too many people talking at you, tasks coming at you from every direction, trying to get ahead and never quite keeping up, and all the normal stress of just taking care of yourself! While you teach (or student teach) you can let your personal self slide. As you slide mentally/ physically/ and emotionally your ability to handle all the little things that crop up are harder to take in stride. This page has links to various things that may help you de-stress or find ways to handle all those random things that crop up during daily life.
Remember, student teaching is a learning process, you aren't supposed to start perfect! And all teachers always have more that they can learn!
Books with tips to de-stress!
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (and it's all small stuff)
-this book is all about handling the little things that crop up in your daily life that at the time seem like a big deal (but in reality really are not that big a deal!)
-Keep a journal at home (for your eyes only!) where you can say what you need to say without the repressions of yelling it out loud. Although it may seem like a good way to de-stress, gossiping about students/teachers in school should be put off until you have a stable teaching job!
-Have a stress ball around or something else you can play/fiddle with inconspicuously. Sometimes a tactile distraction can give a part of your mind a break of handling the object of your growing ire. Some options are foam stress toys , stress relives such as silly putty or a ball.
-Relaxing desktop distractions (when you have free time, or before and after school) can also help out. Zen Gardens are a great way to do this, especially is you add in a quote or passage that means something to you, to reflect upon while you play.
-Music can have a big impact on your life in many ways. There are articles on How To Use Music In Your Daily Life and How Music Relieves Stress that can start you thinking about how you can add it into your life, and how it may be able to help you de-stress. When it comes down to using it in the classroom I can speak from first hand experience that by adding it into a regular specified class experience your student can benefit as well. If you need a quick easy way to program music you can use Pandora, which is a web-site based radio station. Pandora allows you to work by artists and it will play all the music by that artist. You can add more or get rid of artists as you choose. You can always make a mix CD or play-list for your IPod.
-The Bonsai tree is considered an outlet for stress by many people its care and grooming have helped to center people for many years, while we do not know if the bonsai tree actually reduces stress it is easy to love. This web-site has bonsai for sale but also provides some background information.http://www.bonsaigardener.org/bonsai-trees-for-sale.html
-Sleep! do not forget to make time for this! sleep is crucial to mentally relaxing as well as physical rejuvenation. It is not something that you can skip and catch up on later. The scientific research on this is extensive. If you don't believe me check these out... (look them up yourself because on-line searches stress me out)
-Endorphins can help give your body and mind a boost. Exercise, weather a walk or a full blown kick-boxing session, can give your body a break and kick in endorphins which can relive stress and muscle tension. If all you have time to do is park at the far end of the parking lot to walk into the school then do it! Choose the stairs for a bit of cardio rather than the elevator. You may have heard of these to help loose weight but exercise of any kind has the benefit of mind and body aiding endorphins. The best bet is to start a routine before you start student teaching so that it is already in place before the stress of teaching kicks in (as exercise could prevent it from happening!)
Stressful Situations
Teaching involves dealing with students and coworkers and they are not always positive approach
Stressful School Scenarios is a wikipage to bring forward and deal proactively or reactively with anything that could stress you out in the school. On this page feel free to and advice or scenarios that you have come across! Feel free on the discussion board to ask others for advice and help with anything that has cropped up for you!
Classroom Management Scenarios is a wikispace that a past class used to deal with stressful situations within the classroom and school system. Feel free to give it a look and see what past students thought!
Future Lessons for 430 to Proactively Combat Stress
These are ideas that past students had after they started student teaching. They range but all of them have to do with things they wished they had learned or done before they began student teaching.
Stress Solutions!
Teaching is a stressful business! The noise pollution of too many people talking at you, tasks coming at you from every direction, trying to get ahead and never quite keeping up, and all the normal stress of just taking care of yourself! While you teach (or student teach) you can let your personal self slide. As you slide mentally/ physically/ and emotionally your ability to handle all the little things that crop up are harder to take in stride. This page has links to various things that may help you de-stress or find ways to handle all those random things that crop up during daily life.
Remember, student teaching is a learning process, you aren't supposed to start perfect! And all teachers always have more that they can learn!
Books with tips to de-stress!
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (and it's all small stuff)-this book is all about handling the little things that crop up in your daily life that at the time seem like a big deal (but in reality really are not that big a deal!)
The Big Book of Stress Relief Games
-a bunch of quick easy games for distraction and relaxation to help you de-stress
The Little Book of Stress Relief
- a small book set up into 52 chapters (one for every week of the year) to help work on stress relief
The Fun Factor
-a book by an educational professional who works laughter (and stress relief) into your life
Office Spa: Stress Relief for the Working Week
-small things to do at your desk or in a meeting that can help your relax and rejuvenate yourself
On-line tools and programs for a break!
Stress News-feed from Medical News Today.This is a page of articles (up to date hopefully) from recent publications about stress!
Stress News-feed from Science Daily.
Another page of articles to learn more about your stress!
http://www.career-intelligence.com/management/5MInuteYoga.asp
-Office chair yoga ways to relax your neck back and even eyes
http://stressreliefgames.net/
-Games for fun and stress relief
http://www.mindhabits.com/
-Games to reduce stress and anxiety (you need to buy this product)
Chat with other student teachers
-they are the only ones who understand!
Funny Student Teaching stories!
-share a laugh and be glad these things didn't happen to you! If they did happen to you, you aren't the only one!
Our wiki's advice
- made from past student teachers at URI
10 Tips for Combating Stress
-Try these tips to calm yourself down after you had a perfect lesson planned, and the whole thing went to...
How do I keep my students Quiet?
-give it a try, you will learn, that quiet is the best noise!
Check on your favorite sports team
-usually a good way to reduce stress, if its a close game...maybe not
Other Options for Stress Relief
-Keep a journal at home (for your eyes only!) where you can say what you need to say without the repressions of yelling it out loud. Although it may seem like a good way to de-stress, gossiping about students/teachers in school should be put off until you have a stable teaching job!
-Have a stress ball around or something else you can play/fiddle with inconspicuously. Sometimes a tactile distraction can give a part of your mind a break of handling the object of your growing ire. Some options are foam stress toys , stress relives such as silly putty or a ball.
-Relaxing desktop distractions (when you have free time, or before and after school) can also help out. Zen Gardens are a great way to do this, especially is you add in a quote or passage that means something to you, to reflect upon while you play.
-Music can have a big impact on your life in many ways. There are articles on How To Use Music In Your Daily Life and How Music Relieves Stress that can start you thinking about how you can add it into your life, and how it may be able to help you de-stress. When it comes down to using it in the classroom I can speak from first hand experience that by adding it into a regular specified class experience your student can benefit as well. If you need a quick easy way to program music you can use Pandora, which is a web-site based radio station. Pandora allows you to work by artists and it will play all the music by that artist. You can add more or get rid of artists as you choose. You can always make a mix CD or play-list for your IPod.
-The Bonsai tree is considered an outlet for stress by many people its care and grooming have helped to center people for many years, while we do not know if the bonsai tree actually reduces stress it is easy to love. This web-site has bonsai for sale but also provides some background information.http://www.bonsaigardener.org/bonsai-trees-for-sale.html
-Sleep! do not forget to make time for this! sleep is crucial to mentally relaxing as well as physical rejuvenation. It is not something that you can skip and catch up on later. The scientific research on this is extensive. If you don't believe me check these out... (look them up yourself because on-line searches stress me out)
-Endorphins can help give your body and mind a boost. Exercise, weather a walk or a full blown kick-boxing session, can give your body a break and kick in endorphins which can relive stress and muscle tension. If all you have time to do is park at the far end of the parking lot to walk into the school then do it! Choose the stairs for a bit of cardio rather than the elevator. You may have heard of these to help loose weight but exercise of any kind has the benefit of mind and body aiding endorphins. The best bet is to start a routine before you start student teaching so that it is already in place before the stress of teaching kicks in (as exercise could prevent it from happening!)
Stressful Situations
Teaching involves dealing with students and coworkers and they are not always positive approachStressful School Scenarios is a wikipage to bring forward and deal proactively or reactively with anything that could stress you out in the school. On this page feel free to and advice or scenarios that you have come across! Feel free on the discussion board to ask others for advice and help with anything that has cropped up for you!
Classroom Management Scenarios is a wikispace that a past class used to deal with stressful situations within the classroom and school system. Feel free to give it a look and see what past students thought!
Future Lessons for 430 to Proactively Combat Stress
These are ideas that past students had after they started student teaching. They range but all of them have to do with things they wished they had learned or done before they began student teaching.430 Stress Lessons
Completely Unrelated Amusements...
(that may give you laugh and we all know laughter is the best medicine!)Click here for the funny